1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a puncture, cut and abrasion resistant knit fabric having a modified knit structure, and to a garment formed from the fabric.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many activities, it is desirable to provide protective garments, including undergarments, to protect participants from being cut. Ideally, such garments should be flexible, pliable, soft and cut/abrasion resistant. Unfortunately, any improvement in the cut and/or abrasion resistance has usually been at the sacrifice of the other properties. Protective garments have been made cut resistant in the past through the use of yarns which contain wire, fiberglass and high denier high performance yarns such as aramids. However, the use of wire is problematic in environments where a protective garment must not be electrically or thermally conductive. Moreover, experience has shown that the wire may break and injure the hand of the wearer. Lastly, articles or garments having a high wire content may be difficult and/or expensive to clean using conventional cleaning techniques. Further, the use of fiberglass can create significant problems with comfort, particularly in a light weight construction undergarment, as the glass fibers tend to cause significant skin irritation. Anyone that has worked with installing fiberglass batting as insulation can attest to this. The use of high denier high performance yarns such as aramids is problematic in causing the yarn and resultant garment to be too bulky for use, particularly in sporting applications.
In response to these problems, non-metallic cut-resistant yarns have been developed. These yarns have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,177,948 and 5,845,476 to Kolmes et al. which are owned by the assignee of the present invention. The contents of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. Kolmes '948 describes a yarn having substantially parallel core strands which may include fiberglass. Kolmes '476 describes other non-metal containing yarn constructions which contain fiberglass as a core yarn. However, these yarns are typically too bulky in denier to be used in undergarments, hosiery or other intimate apparel.
In addition, if puncture resistance is needed, multiple layers of woven fabric are typically required, particularly made from high strength performance yarns, such as aramid. Often, in knit fabrics, puncture resistance has been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to achieve due to knit stitches often being able to have mobility thus “robbing” yarn from adjacent stitches to open a hole in the fabric, without cutting or tearing the yarns.
Common metal mesh products are marketed to provide cut, slash and laceration protection, but often are insufficient in puncture resistance, due to the holes in the mesh.
Accordingly, a modified knit structure fabric is needed that can provide puncture, cut and abrasion resistance.